With two competing Steve Jobs biopics currently in development, it only makes sense that one would be more of a rush job, attempting to capitalize on his death as quickly as possible, while the other would take its time assembling all the talent necessary to make the best movie possible. The Ashton Kutcher film Jobs: Get Inspired is already in production (earlier this week we saw the first images of Ashton Kutcher in character), and seems to be moving forward fairly quickly, while Sony’s own movie based on Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography has been much slower to materialize. Fortunately, this week Sony has made their first major announcement regarding personnel for the project and it’s a pretty big deal: The Social Network and Moneyball scribe Aaron Sorkin has officially signed on to write the script. Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment had this to say about the announcement:

“Steve Jobs’ story is unique: he was one of the most revolutionary and influential men not just of our time but of all time. There is no writer working in Hollywood today who is more capable of capturing such an extraordinary life for the screen than Aaron Sorkin; in his hands, we’re confident that the film will be everything that Jobs himself was: captivating, entertaining, and polarizing.”

Back in October when Sony first picked up the rights, there were rumours that Aaron Sorkin might be involved, but at the time nothing was confirmed. Sorkin had been an acquaintance of Steve Jobs; Jobs had contacted him and asked him to write a Pixar movie once upon a time. We all know that Sorkin has a way of turning potentially dull true stories into something compelling and cinematic, and hopefully this will be no different.

No timeline has been set for the project yet, but the focus of speculation will now likely shift to the director’s chair. Would David Fincher consider doing it? Who else might be a good choice? It will also be interesting to see if they go with a big name actor or an unknown in the lead role. What do you think… does this news make you excited for Sony’s Steve Jobs biopic and who would you like to see direct?